Story by: Angel Sarris

The University of Montevallo held a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 18th to celebrate the opening of the Center for the Arts, the new fine arts facility on campus. The plan for the facility is to bring the arts to a centralized location for students and residents of Montevallo. 

There are two other art galleries in the city in addition to the new art facility on campus. Owen Gallery is a long, narrow building that showcases art from four local artists. 

Inside the gallery you can find oil paintings, ink blot art, sculptures, prints for sale, and free stickers. The gallery was opened in 2019 and is owned by local artist Scott Owen and his wife Taylor who is a graphic designer and photographer. Owen is a University of Montevallo alum and practices a variety of art forms including sign painting, abstract art, realism, and more.

“The biggest hurdle to get over is the ability to give myself permission to do what is innately mine. That’s the key to it, because everybody has opinions… when it’s an abstract piece of art, the only person you have to truly please is yourself,” said Scott Owen when asked to give advice to aspiring artists.

Blue Phrog Gallery gives local and regional artists a place to showcase and sell their work. The gallery is filled with artwork with many different mediums from an array of artists. It holds many pieces from students and alumni of the university and encourages other artists to get involved. 

Blue Phrog Gallery will be holding an open house Thursday, December 9th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The gallery will be serving wine and hors d’oeuvres to celebrate art and the holiday season.